2022 Annual Report

2022 ANNUAL REPORT APRIL 1, 2022 - MARCH 31, 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS LETTER FROM OUR BOARD CHAIR

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OUR MISSION AND VISION

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EXPANDING OUR IMPACT 8 GLOBAL PORTFOLIO 8 IMPACT AREAS 8 EQUITY, INCLUSION & JUSTICE THE PLATFORM

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CURRENT PROJECTS 14 TIMBER TRACKING 14 WILD & SCENIC RIVERS 16 MEXICAN CORAL REEFS 18 DAYS & DOLLARS CONTRIBUTED

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BOARD AND ADVISORS 21 FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT 22 IN THE MEDIA 23

COVER PHOTO CREDIT: JOSEF QUITSLUND

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2022 ANNUAL REPORT

Lindsay Hunt sampling at Swasey’s Beach, Grey Canyon of the Green River, UT. PHOTO CREDIT: SEAN TROPSA

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In every project and in nearly every way, Adventure Scientists has exceeded my expectations. You all are incredibly capable collaborators, and you have brought diverse skills and enormous enthusiasm to the timber projects. Your ability to train and manage volunteers is impressive—I'm not sure I've seen an organization that can so capably coordinate small armies across such diverse environments and across such huge geographic spans. Your staff are always courteous and fun to interact with. Your project builds are thorough and well-designed. Your outreach strategies do a great job of meeting the dual goals of recruiting and advertising.

— Rich Cronn, US Forest Service 4

2022 ANNUAL REPORT

DEAR FRIENDS

backgrounds to participate in essential environmental research—resonated deeply with me.

This has been my first year as board chair of Adventure Scientists, and I couldn’t be more proud to partner with Gregg and the Adventure Scientists team to support the next phase of growth for this incredible organization.

This year ahead is a big one for us. Our strategic focus on our four impact areas of forests, biodiversity, climate, and freshwater is bearing results, as is our increased emphasis on international programming. Our online platform is receiving positive feedback from partners, and we look forward to increasing its visibility and utility across our network.

From my previous role, leading Wikipedia as CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, I understand the power of individuals to make small contributions that add up to worldchanging outcomes. I also know what it means to love and respect our spectacular natural world, and want to find a way as a non-expert to participate in supporting climate and conservation solutions. From the moment I learned of it, Adventure Scientists’ model— engaging adventurers of different

As we nurture Adventure Scientists’ growth in the upcoming year, maintaining our focus on impact metrics is crucial. In addition to our impact metrics we’re also proud to note that 27% of our volunteers have embraced long-term conservation actions after their involvement with us, such as making a career change, pursuing additional schooling, or starting a new environmental project – a testament to their dedication and the enduring impact of our work together.

Sincerely,

KATHERINE MAHER Chair of the Board

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OUR PURPOSE Adventure Scientists plays a unique role in accelerating environmental solutions by partnering with leaders who work at the forefront of environmental research and conservation to design, build, and manage field data collection projects at scale.

We recruit and train outdoor enthusiasts and community members to collect highquality data from almost anywhere on Earth, thereby empowering institutions, governmental agencies and NGOs to ask broader questions and make greater strides more quickly. By engaging a larger constituency of people in this work, we are democratizing science, facilitating opportunities for individuals to directly engage in climate and environmental problem solving.

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EXPANDING OUR IMPACT In 2022, we underwent a strategic planning process to ensure the organization has the greatest impact going forward. One of the most significant conclusions of this process was a recognition that the environmental issues on which we work disproportionately affect the global south. There exists a major opportunity to have an increased impact by further expanding our international project portfolio.

We began a process to expand our international work and hired a Head of Strategic Partnerships, whose primary role is leading our strategy for international expansion by forging partnerships with international organizations, agencies, and communities.

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IMPACT AREAS In 2022, we announced a refined focus on four impact areas that will guide our work into the future.

Consistent with years past, the projects we take on are guided by three principles:

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They must address an environmental issue for which finding a solution has been data-limited.

There must be a clear theory of change towards lasting impact.

The data must be collected from the outdoors.

WE FOCUS ON FOUR IMPACT AREAS

We contribute to a sustainable future for the world’s forests through collaborations that slow deforestation, protect existing forests and support reforestation.

We accelerate research on adaptation to climate change, invasive species, and threatened species, to protect sustainable ecosystems around the globe.

We study the extent and severity of greenhouse gas emissions from remote sources and provide data on carbon capture and the rates of sequestration.

We provide crucial water quality and quantity information to manage freshwater ecosystems and mitigate the effects of climate change on waterways.

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COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, INCLUSION & JUSTICE We recognize conservation, and science in general, carries a history and legacy of colonialism, exploitation and racism, and are equally cognizant that volunteerism and philanthropy are often privileged to only those with the resources to afford them.

As an organization, we believe that the ability to play an active role in addressing conservation challenges must be democratized. We are expanding our efforts globally, building relationships with local organizations that engage communities authentically.

Adventure Scientists’ overall purpose is derived from our commitment to protect global ecosystems for the good of all people and species.

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THE PLATFORM We are excited to be investing in our new Community Platform, which we expect to launch in 2023. This will be a map-based online tool that allows us to scale our impact even more rapidly.

On it, conservation leaders and scientists will post their data collection needs, and individuals will post their upcoming outdoor activities and/or home bases. This will facilitate more direct connection between scientific partners and volunteers, and decrease the amount of hands-on management required of our staff.

PHOTO CREDIT: ERIC FANNING

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Eaglemere Foundation embraced the opportunity to support Adventure Scientists because we have long believed that the conservation sector demands better data collection and utilization. The citizen science and partnership structure Adventure Scientists has assembled is the inventive and scalable solution needed to rapidly solve the issue of data quantity and quality. We continue to be impressed by Adventure Scientists' ability to identify thorny problems and conjure up creative responses to them.

—Dan Sarles Executive Director, Eaglemere Foundation Donor since 2016

PHOTO CREDIT: KYLE MOON

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CURRENT PROJECTS TIMBER TRACKING OBJECTIVE

Collect tree samples to build DNA and chemical databases that enable investigators to identify the origins of wood products.

IMPACT

Confirms the provenance of wood products to verify the legality and sustainability of harvest. This science-based strategy protects forests and undermine criminal syndicates which are often tied to wildlife crime and human trafficking.

PARTNERS

US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service

I loved sharing my experience with my son. He is interested in a career in natural resources and this was a chance to talk about the science that goes into management and to be an actual part of it.

—Carrie McCracken, Frederick, MD Volunteer

THIS FILM WAS PRODUCED BY: CHARLIE REINERTSEN OF TWOLINED STUDIO. PHOTO CREDIT: JAKOB MUELLER

2022 marked the fifth year of Adventure Scientists’ Timber Tracking Project and our sixth tree species, with a focus on the Eastern white oak. Eastern white oak — Quercus alba L — is a native deciduous tree in the eastern United States and among the most common hardwood species in the region. Its unique properties have long made it one of the most commercially sought after timber species from the United States for applications in flooring, furniture, and moldings. It offers diverse

PHOTO CREDIT: CORY CROUSER

ecosystem services such as acorn production, soil stabilization, vertical habitat structure, and shade for streams.

Indigenous cultures, including the Cherokee, Delaware, Oklahoma, Iroquois, Micmac, and Mohegan derive medicines from cambium of white oak and feasted on the acorns.

Our volunteers collected leaf, twig, and core samples that are being compiled by our partners at the US Forest Service to produce a comprehensive reference library that will serve as a key tool in the future prosecution of white oak timber theft cases, source tree origins to within tens of miles, and support forest resilience and biodiversity.

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WILD & SCENIC RIVERS A volunteer collects water quality measurements from a tributary using a handheld probe. During a trip led by volunteer Abigail Taylor down the Rogue River, Sept 2022.

OBJECTIVE

Collect water temperature, pH, salinity, and other water quality metrics to help guide management of Wild and Scenic rivers across the US.

PHOTO CREDIT: ABIGAIL TAYLOR

IMPACT

The National Wild and Scenic River System protects America’s most treasured rivers. Yet 82% of these rivers either have little to no water quality information or are known to fail water quality standards for one or more pollutants.

Our work has provided river managers with the most comprehensive view to date of the health of the Wild and Scenic River System, to more effectively manage these rivers into the future.

PARTNERS

National Park Service, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management

2022 marked the third and final year of our Wild and Scenic Rivers project. As with the two previous years of the project, Adventure Scientists worked with its partners at the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and state water quality agencies to mobilize volunteers to gather water quality survey data on Wild and Scenic Rivers (WSRs) across the United States. In the 2022 field

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season, we recruited, trained and managed 115 volunteer teams, who surveyed 169 WSRs across 20 states. Our Wild and Scenic Rivers Project Report, gives a complete summary of the project, encompassing three years of data collection.

Data from this project has already helped build strong interagency collaborations, and inform decision-making surrounding activities such as timber extraction, grazing practices, and fire management planning.

2022 ANNUAL REPORT

When I heard of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Project, I knew I wanted to be involved. It felt like combining the type of science I always wanted to do while helping protect the rivers I’d grown to love.

—Abigail Taylor, OR Volunteer

Adventure Scientists is a great model for getting the public outdoors and involved in science and the collection of information to improve the quality of the environment for current and future generations. The enthusiasm and passion of the AS staff is infectious.

—Scott Miller, Bureau of Land Management

PHOTO: JOSH DANIELS

PHOTO: BRIAN CRIPE

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MEXICAN CORAL REEFS OBJECTIVE

Collect critical data to understand how to make reefs more resilient to climate change and human pressures.

IMPACT

Mexico’s coast harbors highly diverse and important coral reefs and communities.

The data we collect are being used to assess new methods for determining the current health and response of reefs to climate change and increasing human pressures.

PARTNERS

Dr. Alma Paola Rodríguez-Troncoso and Dr. Amílcar Cupul-Magaña, Universidad de Guadalajara

Coral reefs have high value due to the immense biodiversity they harbor, their scenic beauty and their ecosystem services, which are estimated at approximately $35 billion per year – including contributions to the food industry (fisheries), tourism, and coastline protection.

Yet coral communities are the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Over the last decade, 33% of the reef-building coral species have become critically endangered, and 75% are highly threatened. Reefs are perennially understudied and massive data gaps in their biodiversity, resilience and genetics make their management and protection exceedingly difficult.

Adventure Scientists has been a strategic ally for our project and the conservation of the reefs, not only in contacting the right volunteers, but also in helping us multiply awareness of the critical situation that coral reefs are experiencing today.

—Dr. Alma Paola Rodríguez-Troncoso, Department of Biologial Sciences, University of Guadalajara

Adventure Scientists, in partnership with researchers at the Marine Ecology Lab of the University of Guadalajara in Mexico, is engaged in a multi-year effort to monitor coral reef systems throughout the central Mexican Pacific coast, a 500 km stretch from Manzanillo to the Islas Marietas. In 2022, we recruited and trained divers to gather high-quality data from the reefs to understand how climate change and human pressure are impacting these coral communities.

We are collaborating with Paola and her network to expand this project over the coming years, with additional scientific partners and dive sites around Latin America and the Caribbean.

What motivated me to participate in the Coral Reef project was recognizing the need and knowing that it might be helpful to the scientific community.

—Karla De La Peña, Monterrey, Mexico Volunteer

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BOARD & ADVISORS BOARD OF DIRECTORS Katherine Maher, Chair Saleem Ali Scott Amero Heana Chung Ann Curry Mike Herring Leigh Lytle Peter Molnar Gregg Treinish Kate Wing

SCIENCE ADVISORY COUNCIL Dr. Enric Sala Dr. Lauren Oakes Dr. Tim McDermott

ADVISORY COUNCIL Jon Bowermaster Christy Chin Alan Eustace Sean Gerrity Sy Kaufman Anthony Lee Steve McCormick Christopher Michel Frazier Miller Gib Myers Bo Parfet Bill Unger Dr. Brian Wee

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2022 FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT FUNDRAISING

15%

EXPENSES PROGRAM SERVICES

1,395,782

$

GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE

$

292,469

FUNDRAISING

$

309,291

TOTAL

$

1,997,542

GENERAL & ADMIN

15%

PROGRAM SERVICES

70%

INCOME

END OF YEAR SUMMARY

CONTRIBUTIONS & PLEDGES

1,846,615

$

PROJECT MANAGEMENT FEES

$

299,309

SPONSORSHIPS

$

IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS

$

2,214,445

$

CHANGE IN NET ASSETS

759,843

$

68,270 89,066

FOUNDATIONS

$

361,978

OTHER

$

146,522

TOTAL

BEGINNING 2022 NET ASSETS

$

2,811,790

END 2022 NET ASSETS

2,974,288

$

IN THE MEDIA

Tree Sleuths: How DNA is transforming the fight against illegal logging,

by Lauren Markham, August 2022

How Outdoor Enthusiasts Can Help Scientific Research About Climate and Wildlife,

by Tara Lohan, July 2022

Do We Need a Science Party to Confront Existential Problems Like Global Warming?, board member Saleem H. Ali in conversation with Andrew Kean, July 2022

Tree Thieves: Crime and Survival in North America's Woods,

by Lyndsie Bourgon, Copyright 2022, Little, Brown Spark

Members in Action: Adventure Scientists,

by Megan Taylor, June 22, 2022

Adventurous spirits: Volunteers help address tree poaching on public lands, April 21, 2022

2023

Don't ask yourself what the world needs.

Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

—Howard Thurman

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